Increasing the productivity and market options of smallholder beef cattle farmers in Vanuatu
This project aims to increase the productivity and marketing options of smallholder cattle farmers in Vanuatu through social, business and production participatory research, demonstration and training activities. 75% of households in Vanuatu rely on traditional subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods, and 50% of rural households have cattle.
Beef cattle turnoff into formal markets has declined in recent years, and butchers and abattoirs cannot meet increasing demand for beef.
The Government of the Republic of Vanuatu has identified increased smallholder cattle productivity, linkages with the commercial cattle sector and income from cattle sales as priority strategies to increase national beef production, meet expanding market opportunities, and improve the livelihoods of Ni-Vanuatu smallholder households.
Implementing these strategies will require understanding the livelihoods objectives of smallholder cattle producing households and cattle production systems. The project will increase cattle productivity and improve market access within the smallholder cattle sector in Vanuatu.
This 5-year project kicked off in 2015 initially based in Santo to understand how famers operate then should be similar in any island around Vanuatu.
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